Elon Musk's X sues startup over 'Twitter' name, calls Twitter brand 'alive and well'

Elon Musk’s company, X Corp, has initiated legal action against a US startup that is attempting to seize control of the "Twitter" trademark. X Corp filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Delaware after the rival firm, Operation Bluebird, sought to have the original Twitter trademarks cancelled.

Operation Bluebird, a social media fledgling, has argued that X Corp has abandoned the famous brand since Musk rebranded the platform from Twitter to X. They have petitioned the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to revoke X Corp's federal trademarks for both “Twitter” and “Tweet,” claiming they are no longer in commercial use. Operation Bluebird’s founder has openly stated their goal is to ‘bring Twitter back’ as a new social network, and they have already applied to register the name for a rival platform called “twitter.new.”

The challenge by Operation Bluebird is based on a key principle of trademark law: if a company stops using a brand name with no intention of picking it up again, the trademark can be deemed abandoned, leaving it free for others to claim. The startup contends that because X has removed the bluebird logo, changed the name everywhere, and migrated the core domain to x.com, they have effectively relinquished their rights.

However, X Corp firmly rejects this claim, arguing that the Twitter brand is “still alive and well” and “not ripe for the picking.” In its court filing, the company maintains that simply rebranding does not equate to abandoning the trademark entirely. They point to the millions of users who still access the platform via the old twitter.com address, which now redirects to X, and insist that the name continues to be used by the public and businesses globally.

X Corp’s lawsuit accuses Operation Bluebird of trademark infringement, stating that its proposed platform would cause confusion among consumers. The company is asking the court to block the startup from using the Twitter-related branding and is also seeking financial compensation. This legal dispute sets the stage for a critical test of how technology firms retain ownership of brands they have deliberately moved away from, proving that even as the bluebird disappears, its legal fight remains very much active.